Pirates' Phillip Evans out for season with concussion, broken jaw

Phillip Evans suffered a concussion and a fractured jaw in the outfield collision with Gregory Polanco during Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers, injuries that will cause the Pittsburgh Pirates corner infielder/outfielder to miss the remainder of the season.

The Pirates placed Evans on the 45-day injured list Sunday and recalled infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna from their alternate training site in Altoona to replace Evans on the 28-man roster. They also optioned right-handed pitcher Nick Mears, who gave up a run on one hit and three walks with two strikeouts in his major league debut, the 11-5 loss to the Tigers on Saturday. They also added left-handed reliever Brandon Waddell to their 60-man roster and selected him to their major league roster.

“He continues to be examined by our team physicians. We will monitor him closely throughout the coming days, and he will be evaluated by our surgeons this coming week to determine a final prognosis,” said Todd Tomczyk, Pirates director of sports medicine. “I think what’s most important with Phil is that all our initial reads from our physicians is that he will have a full recovery but, at this time, he is out indefinitely to allow his head to recover from the injury, from the collision, and to allow his mouth and face injuries to heal, as well.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton met with Evans in his office at PNC Park and said he was in “good spirits.”

“From seeing the collision, seeing it live and seeing the replay of it … it was pretty impactful,” Shelton said. “So to see him in good spirits (Sunday), to see him smiling, yeah, it made my morning.”

Tomczyk also said that Polanco suffered “mild” bruised ribs during the collision. Polanco finished the game.

Tomczyk said there was a “significant amount of swelling” in Evans’ face, and it will have to subside before doctors can determine whether other injuries occurred.

“Most important, this man will recover,” Tomczyk said. “We fully expect that and anticipate that he will play baseball again.”

Evans was knocked out after he collided into Polanco while chasing a Miguel Cabrera fly ball in foul territory along the right-field line in the sixth inning of the 11-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park. Evans looked up just before running into the elbow of the oncoming Polanco, absorbing a hit to the head that left Evans sprawled onto the field. He was stabilized with a neck brace and placed onto a stretcher, then taken off the field on a cart.

“Due to the severity of the collision,” Tomczyk said, “… you did see that he lost consciousness.”

Pirates catcher Jacob Stallings said Evans sent a text message to teammates in a group chat Saturday night and visited the clubhouse Sunday morning, which eased players’ concerns after seeing him immobilized in the outfield.

“It was obviously scary, just seeing all the things that they were doing and all the checkups they were doing,” Stallings said. “It’s definitely a relief to hear that it’s nothing cervical and nothing too serious, so very grateful because he’s been playing great. Hopefully, we can get him back sooner rather than later.”

Evans had been a pleasant surprise for the Pirates, signed as a nonroster invitee to spring training after spending last season in the minors with the Chicago Cubs and two years with the New York Mets. A versatile defender, Evans was leading the Pirates in hits (14), RBIs (nine), batting average (.359) and on-base percentage (.444) this season, when he started at the corner infield and outfield positions. Evans hit his first major league homer in the fifth inning of Friday’s 17-13 loss to the Tigers.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said the team “clearly targeted” Evans because of his defensive versatility.

“We thought that he was at a point his career where he had started to make some adjustments. There was enough defensive value with the versatility, and basically, it looked like he was making some adjustments offensively, getting us some more power,” Cherington said. “So we thought maybe he was at the point in his career where there might be a corner. It’s not a big enough sample to tell, but we’re really encouraged by what he’s doing. He’s a great teammate. He can do a lot of things to help the team.”